Improvement in machine for spinning tapering tubes of sheet-metal



Halimi /tatet' @anni FREDERICK I, SEYMOUR, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT,vASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND E. MILLER & CO., OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 86,182, dated January 26, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINE FOR SPINNING- 'IAPERING- TUBES OF SHEET-METAL.

The Schedule referred to in. these Lettere Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom tt 'nul/y concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK I. SEYMOUR, of Meriden, in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented, lnadeand applied touse, a certain new anduseful Improvement in Spinning Tapering TubesofvSheet-Metal; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full,clear, and exact description of the said invention, reference being hadto the annexed drawing, making part of this specification, wherein-Figure l is a side view of the machine employed for spinning said tubes,part ofthe bed being removed to show the. screw-clamp sectionally, andthe head-block being broken open.

Figure 2 is a view endwise of the mandrel and former.

Figure 3 is a section at the line x rc, showing the belts and pulleys tothe screw of the mandrel-head.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent in section the successive stages in theformation of sheet-metal tube.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

Heretofore the tapering tubes forming the spouts of oil-cans,lubricators, lightning-rod tips, bayonetsheath tips, dto., have beenmade of sheet-metal bent up to shape and soldered or brazed. Thisoperation is costly, tubes are not strong and often becoineleaky, andfrequent-ly the small tubes are closed by the solder or other alloyemployed in making a joint.

The nature of m y said invention consists in mechanism for reducingcylindrical or nearly cylindrical tube down y to the taper ot' a mandrelor former by a spinning operation, which lengthens the tube at the sametime that it imparts the desired tapering shape.

To eiiect'these operations, a tube of' metal is attached at the larger-end of a tapering mandrel, and revolved rapidly while being acted uponby a roller or tool, to reduce and spin the metal down to the shape ofthe tapering former, a pair of rollers, or other support, being employedto sustain the former and tube while being operated upon.

In the drawingrepresents a bed, upon which is mounteda head, b, carryinga mandrel, c, rotated by power applied to a pulley, al.

e is a rack, acted upon by the crank f and a pinion, to slide the head band mandrel along, previous to commencing the spinning-operation.-

The 'bed a' has a surface, on whicht-he head b slides, that is inclinedbetween the points 2 and 3 for a purpose hereafter' named.

The screw f', that moves the head b' along during thespinning-operation, is connected to the head by the half-nut g that isbrought into operation by the treadle h and lever h', the screw frevolving continu: ously by a connection to the mandrel e, that isformed through the pulleys and bands 7c, I, and lm. (See g. 3.)

The pulley le is fitted with a feather in a groove in the mandrel c, soas to be rotated thereby, andat the same time allow the mandrel to slidethrough it, said pulley k being held in the fork k', that allows thepuiley to rise and fall with the spindle, as it rises or sinks, as thehead b and mandrelare moved along the inclined portion ofthe bed a.A

The head-block u is fitted to receive the slide o that carriestherollers a; x, and a lever, p, is provided, with an eccentric orcam-shaped hub, by which to raise or lower the slide o and rollers x,Vand p isa spring to. draw said slide o down, when relieved, by movingthe lever p.

q isa slide, carrying the roller r, or other tool, to spin thesheet-metal tube. X s is a screw and hand-wheel to operate upon a nut(shown by dotted lines) within the slide q,and regulate the force of aspring (shown also by dotted'lines) that is within a cylindrical cavityin the slide q, so that the force with which the roller or tool oispressed upon the sheet-metal tube will depend upon the amount ofcompression of the spring by the screw s and its nut.

t is a lever on a fulcrum at 6, andoperating, when latched at 7, to holdup the slide q and roller a'.

The tapering mandrel or former i is attached at the end of the mandrelc, and is adapted to receive, at its larger portion, the base of thetube' of sheet-metal to be tapered. This tube is shown in iig. 4, and ist0 be drawn down from a sheet-metal disk, or otherwise, by any knownmeans, such, for instance, as the dies employed in the manufacture ofmetallic cartridge-cases, and the tube may be open en'tirely at the end,or slightly contracted, seen in gs: 4 and 5.

The collar 8 and screw for attaching the tube to a lubricator may beformed upon the sheet-metal tube, as seen in tig. 5, before o r afterthe tube is tapered, orv dispensed with when not, required.

The opening that is left in the head-block n, between the slides o andq, allows the former 'L to be protruded through said head-,block in theposition shown in-fig. 1, the slide q being drawn up out of the way andthe slide o depressed.

The tubular blank, fig. 4 or 5, is slipped over the former 'i and firmlysecured thereto by a screw-thimble, u, or other device, which clamps itto the base or larger end of the former i. The tube and mandrel are thenrevolved rapidly by means of the mandrel c, the feed-motion, by thescrew f', brought into action by the treadle l1', the slide andsupporting-rollers :1: x brought up by the lever 1f, and the roller ortool 'r put into action by disengaging the lever t from the latch 7, andthe spinning, reduction, and elongation of the cylindrical pipe into atapering tube progresses from the larger to the smaller end of saidtube. During this operation, the head h drawing back and down theincline between 2 and 3, keeps the under side of the tapering' tubeproperly in contact with the supportingrollers :c x, compensating bythis movement for the decrease in thefdameter of the part that is beingsup- ,I

` It will be apparent that the slide o and rollers a: as,

or other supports, might be operated upon by springs,

or their equivalents, in place of employing the inclined surface 2, 3 ofthe bed a to keep the tube in cont-act with the rollers 4, 4, and thatthe levers p and t, when acted upon by hand or by the adjustment of thespring, can be made to'draw'the metal down thinner, as it is spun, orleavet thicker, as desired.

I prefer to run each tapering tube throughtwice. In the irst reduction,the tube will not be stretched to the end of the former i. In the secondreduction, the tube will be made thinner and its en dcarried out beyondtheend of the former i, which will leave the very end of the tubethicker .than it would be if extended upon a former, and it can lbevspun down by the rollers, so as to compress the tube and leave anydesired size of opening to the small end of the tube."

The former i might be dispensed withif it is desired simply to taperthe-tube and not elongate it,- in which in combination with a. taperingformer, to which the tube to `be reduced to a taper is held while beingrotated and acted upon by the roller or tool lr, substantially as setforth. o i

3. The arrangement of the headbloek n, slides q and o, and rollers x xand lr, in combination with the taper- ,ing' former i and the head '11,fitted to move down the inclined surface 2, 3 of the bed a,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my signa.

ture, this 21st day of July, 1868.

Witnesses: FREDK I. SEYMOUR.

.WAL H. PERKINS, WATSON W. CLARK.

